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Canine Teenager: Is Your Dog’s Training Stalling?
Canine Teenager: Is Your Dog’s Training Stalling? AUTHOR: STEFFI TROTT, SPIRIT DOG TRAINING Many puppy owners start out training their puppy as soon as he gets home. Very young dogs like this learn quickly and often surprise their owners by how fast they catch on and acquire new skills. Puppy training seems like a breeze - until your dog hits his teenage years. Suddenly he doesn’t listen to his recall anymore, doesn’t sit when you ask him and maybe even chew your furniture! Today we will explore why dogs’ training becomes difficult as a teenager, and how to set yourself up for success during this time. When is my dog a teenager? Dogs reach their “teenage years” somewhere around 5-10 months of age. Small breeds mature faster physically, so a Dachshund may be a teenager already at 20 weeks old. Large and giant breeds mature more slowly. A Bernedoodle or German Shepherd enters his adolescence at about 35 weeks. Just like human teenagers, this phase is characterized by the dogs changing into adults physically - and it goes along with similar mood swings as well! If your dog has not yet been spayed or neutered you also need to be aware that he or she is now fertile and can produce puppies. Why is my dog’s behavior changing? One of the reasons why puppies are so easily trainable and catch onto new skills quickly is that they need strong bonds in order to stay safe. As long as they are small and vulnerable they have to stick close to their parents or owners to survive. A puppy who would wander too far from his group or who would pick fights would not have made it in doggy evolution! As a dog enters his teenage years, he can now keep himself safe. Little puppies tend to follow their owners around at the heels and climb into their laps all the time. An adolescent dog might not be interested in this - instead he wants to go off and explore. Owners are often disappointed that no training seems to have “stuck”. This is not the case - your dog’s interest for distractions has simply increased dramatically. Working through the changed behavior It is really important that you do not give up on training now. Don’t think that what you are doing has no impact. This could not be further from the truth! You need to especially double down on training now and make sure that you work with your dog daily. As a professional dog trainer, I can tell you that the teenage stage is when dogs go either one of two ways: They become really well-behaved companions - or they become out of control. Preventing boredom In another similarity to human teenagers, keeping your dog occupied with beneficial activities is key. If your teenage dog is not busy, he will put his energy towards his own ideas - and you won’t like that! A bored adolescent dog can pick up excessive barking, destructive behaviors or even develop reactive tendencies towards other dogs or people. Daily mental and physical stimulation is important. Most dogs do not do well if they only receive physical exercise. Working their minds is just as important and can actually make a dog more tired than running around. Schedule several activities throughout the dog’s day. It could look like this: Morning walk Midday training session Afternoon playtime in the yard Dinner eaten from food puzzles Bonding time You may be frustrated and annoyed by your teenage dog and only want to spend as little time as necessary around him. This is not a good idea - the less you interact, the more he will go off and look for his own fun! Make sure that the two of you have bonding experiences every day. These can be fun for you as well. Nearly all dogs love to go to a drive-through and get an ice cream cone. You can also hide treats under a blanket and let your dog figure out how to get them. Find your own little routines and do them often with your dog. It will help him focus more on you and keep the attachment built in puppyhood. Red flags in teenage dogs Nearly all difficult behavioral and training issues start during a dog’s adolescence. If you notice any of the following, consult a professional trainer or veterinary behaviorist: Your dog is exhibiting aggressive tendencies towards you, your family or other people Your dog is obsessively eating unsuitable objects such as rocks Your dog is highly destructive. This can include scratching and biting at walls and doorways or tearing apart his kennel Your dog repeatedly gets into confrontations and escalations with other dogs Your dog suddenly soils the house again after being housebroken before If these behaviors go unaddressed, dogs can ingrain them to a point at which it is impossible to fix them completely. The Bottom Line It is normal for adolescent dogs to stop being closely attached to their owners and begin to venture into the world by themselves. In order to not let this become a problem though, you need to make sure that you train and exercise your dog daily. Make time to have bonding experiences with him and build on all the good training you have done so far. Prevent your teenage dog from being bored so that he does not begin to exhibit destructive or reactive behavior. If you do notice that your dog is showing unusually difficult behaviors, consult with a professional trainer or veterinarian as fast as possible. The sooner you address behavior issues, the better they can be solved. AUTHOR BIO Steffi Trott is the owner and founder of SpiritDog Training. Originally training dogs in-person, she added online training in 2018 to her business. Steffi strives to provide game-based, positive training solutions for owners and their dogs. When she is not training other owners' dogs she competes in dog agility or hikes in the New Mexico and Colorado wilderness with her own 4 dogs.
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Features of a Good Dog Daycare
Features of a Good Dog Daycare Dog daycares have become popular with dog owners but, like many pet-related services, the quality of care varies. Here are some tips on how to find a good dog daycare: Ask for recommendations from other dog owners, trainers and veterinarians and visit the daycare or daycares you are considering and spend some time there. Whether the daycare is indoors, outdoors or a combination, the daycare should be spacious. The dogs should have lots of room to run and they should be able to get away from one another if they want or need to. Note the odor of the facility. It should smell fresh and be clean and not like dog waste or harsh cleaners. For playtime, dogs should be divided into groups (divided by size, activity levels and playstyles) either by having the groups in separate areas from one another or by having the groups out in separate playtimes. Check what size the groups are. More than 10 or 15 dogs per group is risky. Consider also the staff to dog ratio. Most dog professionals recommend 1 staff member per 15 dogs with adjustments made for more and less active dogs. There should be continual supervision of the dogs. Ask about the daycares’ policy on toys. Some dogs become possessive over things and many daycares avoid having toys out with the dogs for this reason. Look for a daycare where there are rest areas for the dogs and where dogs are given rest periods. There should be clean fresh water always available. If it is an indoor facility, there should be a designated area where the dogs can do their business so that they are comfortable all day and so that they do not lose their housetraining skills. Some daycares incorporate walks into the day for this purpose. If you have an older dog, check to see if there are additional times for a dog who perhaps needs to void more often. Look at the fences surrounding the outdoor area and make sure they are high and solid. I like fences which also have buried wire to avoid dogs digging their way out. Are there double gates and double doors so that dogs are secure when people are coming in and out of the facility? Meet the staff! The staff members should really care about dogs. They should employ reward-based methods to encourage good behavior from the dogs and understand that punishment is known to create aggression. They should easily recognize stress signals in dogs. Staff members should know the difference between play and aggression and when to interrupt dog interactions. Be sure to ask what training the staff have in dog behavior and care. Your dog’s daycare experience is going to be as good as the staff who make it happen. Ask how the staff break up fights and what tools they use. Walk away from any facility that tells you they allow dogs to just “sort it out”. There should always be at least one staff member with current pet first aid present. Staff should also be able to give medications to your dog if required. Ask how the daycare screens the dogs who attend the daycare (the dogs should be screened for suitability). Is there a detailed application form (there should be!)? Are there vaccination requirements (there should be)? Ask about the daycares’ policy is on emergencies. Decide if your is dog a good candidate for a daycare. Dogs who like to play with other dogs, are active and well-socialized are good candidates for daycare. Dogs who are distressed when left at home alone can be good candidates for daycare, but they also may prefer to hang out at a friend’s house or have a caregiver come to the home in the absence of the owner. Once your dog has been to a daycare, observe your dog to see if it looks like he likes it when you go again. Is he excited when he arrives and eager to meet up with the other dogs or is he showing stress signals and reluctant to approach the centre? If it’s the latter, then that daycare isn’t for him. Some businesses offer video access to their customers which can give peace of mind to an owner who wants to see first hand that their dog is having a great time. Decide how long your dog will attend daycare. Some offer hourly and half-day services. Daycares can be great for dogs but choose wisely! Jane Bowers, B.A., CABC, CPDT-KA Jane Bowers has been training dogs for over two decades. She teaches people to train their dogs in group and private training courses and has a keen interest in assisting dogs with behavioral issues. Her company is Dogs of Distinction Canine Training Inc. Jane has a monthly newspaper column on dog related topics and is a former host of a live call in TV show on animals. She is a strong advocate for force free and humane training methods for all animals. Jane has a degree in psychology and is certified as a dog trainer through the Certification Council of Professional Pet Dog Trainers and as a behaviour consultant through the International Association of Behavior Consultants and through the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals. These organizations require a minimum number of continuing education units be obtained to retain certification. She is also a professional member of "The Pet Professional Guild," an organization committed to force-free training of animals and the "Association of Professional Dog Trainers," a professional organization of individual trainers who are committed to being better trainers through education. Jane is the content creator of the online course "Assessing and Interpreting Dog Behaviour," which is a course for law enforcement personnel who meet unfamiliar dogs in the course of their duties. She is the author of "Perfect Puppy Parenting," a guide to raising a happy, confident, well-behaved dog. Jane spent 17 years working for Customs Border Services and in joint teams with US Homeland Security and the RCMP. She spent a further 8 years working as an Animal Control Officer and Bylaw Enforcement Officer. Jane lives on a small farm with dogs, sheep, donkeys, and chickens. The dogs each came from situations that prevented them from living in their original homes. The dogs range in size and age and with the dog training and behavioral work, whether it's participating in the development of an online training course, working with a client's dog or tracking a lost pet or animal. :|zpendofcontent|:
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Scent Work for the Family Dog
Scent Work for the Family Dog We often associate scent work with working dogs like bomb detection or medical assistance dogs. New ways dogs can help people by using the dog’s incredible powers of scent discrimination are discovered regularly. Recently, it was reported that trained dogs were able to sniff out malaria from the socks of children with malaria parasites and to distinguish between infected and uninfected children. The dogs correctly identified whether malaria was present or not in 70 percent of the infected children and in 90 percent of the uninfected children tested. This was research done by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the charity, Medical Detection Dogs. There are lots of scent discrimination activities the family dog can participate in and these activities are something many dogs and owners find fun and rewarding! It has been my experience, as a trainer, that scent discrimination exercises can increase confidence in a dog and can decrease problem and destructive behavior in some dogs who need a job or a purpose. Scent discrimination activities take many forms. Two of my dogs are trailing dogs who specialize in searching for and locating missing animals. The training for this includes lots of practice time with target animals of different species. The “target” animals are animals who lay a trail (with their handler) which the trailing dog follows. As the trailing dogs learn and develop their skills, other animals and their handlers participate in the training as “decoys”. The decoy dogs and handlers also lay a trail, but the trailing dog must ignore their trails and follow the trail of the target dog who has also laid a trail. Other exercises make sure that the trailing dog is following the scent of target dog and not that of the handlers. These dogs also learn to let the handler know if the missing animal they are looking for is deceased with a trained indication. It’s well- known that dogs have been instrumental in looking for and finding lost people. Family dogs can also do search and rescue training through SAR organizations. In my area, the dogs and people must be certified by the RCMP. Tracking and trailing just for fun is something a lot of people do with their dogs. When a dog is first learning, the trail should be easy for the dog to follow and always on safe terrain. I start dogs by having the tracklayer lay the trail on a vegetative surface because it holds scent well and so that the beginner dog can more easily follow the rafts of scent left by the tracklayer. There are several things that can influence the difficulty of the trail such as weather, age of the trail, vegetation, traffic, type of surface, how quickly the tracklayer was going when laying the track and so forth. I start with a very easy trail and build the difficulty as the dog gains skill and confidence. In all trailing exercises, the handler learns to read his or her dog and understand when the dog is out of odor and when the dog is following the scent. If there aren’t courses available locally, there are many good books on tracking and trailing. Tracking and trailing work are a good foundation for dogs to then do search work. It’s also handy to have a dog who can find lost keys or a missing cellphone! Dogs can be taught to search areas for specific odors like various essential oils and there are organizations who certify instructors and hold trials for people who want to compete. The dogs often start by searching for food they like in a variety of situations like inside items, hidden around the exterior of vehicles, or hidden around exterior search areas. I highly recommend scent work for family dogs – training is accessible online as well as in many communities and it’s a lot of fun! Jane Bowers, B.A., CABC, CPDT-KA Jane Bowers has been training dogs for over two decades. She teaches people to train their dogs in group and private training courses and has a keen interest in assisting dogs with behavioral issues. Her company is Dogs of Distinction Canine Training Inc. Jane has a monthly newspaper column on dog related topics and is a former host of a live call in TV show on animals. She is a strong advocate for force free and humane training methods for all animals. Jane has a degree in psychology and is certified as a dog trainer through the Certification Council of Professional Pet Dog Trainers and as a behaviour consultant through the International Association of Behavior Consultants and through the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals. These organizations require a minimum number of continuing education units be obtained to retain certification. She is also a professional member of "The Pet Professional Guild," an organization committed to force-free training of animals and the "Association of Professional Dog Trainers," a professional organization of individual trainers who are committed to being better trainers through education. Jane is the content creator of the online course "Assessing and Interpreting Dog Behaviour," which is a course for law enforcement personnel who meet unfamiliar dogs in the course of their duties. She is the author of "Perfect Puppy Parenting," a guide to raising a happy, confident, well-behaved dog. Jane spent 17 years working for Customs Border Services and in joint teams with US Homeland Security and the RCMP. She spent a further 8 years working as an Animal Control Officer and Bylaw Enforcement Officer. Jane lives on a small farm with dogs, sheep, donkeys, and chickens. The dogs each came from situations that prevented them from living in their original homes. The dogs range in size and age and with the dog training and behavioral work, whether it's participating in the development of an online training course, working with a client's dog or tracking a lost pet or animal. :|zpendofcontent|:
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Why You Need to Teach Your Dog Tricks
When was the last time you taught your dog a new trick? Been a while? Sometimes when we get a new dog/puppy we spend a lot of time teaching tricks and behaviors and once we feel the dog is “trained” we… well stop. Dogs love, love, love to train and learn behaviors. The AKC has launched a new trick dog program and it is just the ticket for some fresh new ideas. Why train tricks? Dogs love to learn new things Mental stimulation and activity helps improve your dog’s overall behavior New tricks prevent boredom (which can lead to bad … Continue reading → The post Why You Need to Teach Your Dog Tricks appeared first on 4Knines Dog Blog.
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How to Train Your Dog to Heel on a Loose Leash
To train your dog to walk to heel, it is vital they are calm and responsive. This allows them to have the focus to learn what you are asking of them. To accomplish this, it will help to plan the walk in a series of stages, starting off at a place with minimal distractions so you have the dog’s attention and...
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What to Do When Your Dog Won’t Listen
Let’s face it, we’ve all been there. That dog that was so well trained has now stopped listening, doesn’t come when called and basically does what he wants. It can happen for a lot of reasons: Not practicing Not enough positive reinforcement Changes to your daily routine Not asking enough of your dog I have a multi-dog household, so sometimes if practice or training time is limited on my part, they start to slip and the pack can take over in no time. Sometimes you need to just hit the reset button and re-start your training (and your mindset!). Our … Continue reading →
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The Evolution of Dog Training
Over the years dog training has evolved just like almost everything else in the world! Although evolution and change can be scary, it is an important part of our lives. As humans, we are constantly striving for “something better” or to learn more about things. Because we have a desire for “something better,” we have eliminated deadly diseases, we have mini computers in our pockets, we can travel around the world and we live much longer. These changes did not come easy and many people feared the changes. Change can be scary and if we learn that we have … Continue reading →
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Should Your Dog Sleep In Your Bed With You?
As a trainer, I get this question all the time: “Should I let my dog sleep on my bed (or couch)?” In general, my answer is always – “It is up to you.” However, I also advise that there may be a few situations when you may not want to share your resting space with your dog. If you have a Great Dane puppy or other large breed puppy, you need to remember that the pint-sized pup will eventually be an enormous adult. Your sleep is important to maintaining a healthy life and you may not be able to … Continue reading →
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Can Pet Parents Be Helicopter Parents?
If you are a parent to human children, you are probably familiar with the term “helicopter parent”. If you do not have human children, you may not be familiar with the term. “Helicopter parents” are parents that constantly oversee their children. They often are hesitant to leave their children at school, they are involved in everything the children are doing (even when they are at home playing) and they rarely allow their children to do anything without them. Most children with these overly involved parents will either become extremely dependent on their parents to do anything or they rebel … Continue reading →
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The 4 Quadrants of Dog Training: Are You Doing All Four?
There are four ‘quadrants’ when it comes to dog training; positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. To summarise quickly… Positive reinforcement is when you add something to the dogs environment that he likes for example if he sits he gets a piece of cheese. This increases the chances of the behaviour happening again. Negative reinforcement is when you remove something the dog doesn’t like from the environment; for example stopping an electric shock when the dog eventually sits down. The dog learns that by sitting he avoids the shock thus increasing the chances of the behaviour happening … Continue reading →
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10 Things You Might Not Know About Clicker Training Your Dog
Have you ever tried clicker training with your dog? Clicker training is currently a very popular training method, and there’s good reason for that. If you haven’t tried it yet here are some facts about it, good reasons to do so, and some tips to get started. The Facts The Science Behind It: Clicker training is based on the theory of operant conditioning. This term was coined by B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist and behaviorist. Animals learn that their actions can control their environment. For example, they learn that ringing a bell gets the door to open. It is positive … Continue reading →
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The Risks of Using Choke Chain or Prong Collars on Your Dog
“Do you…WANT TO GO FOR A WALKIES?” Those can be a dogs favorite words along with, “Do you… WANT TO EAT?” Sadly, for some dogs the walk experience is fraught with frustration, confusion and outright pain. For some dog owners the walk experience may be fraught with similar feelings of frustration and anxiety as they struggle to have a pleasant walk with their dog that has not been educated about how to walk in a relaxed manner with their person. For other dog owners they may think they have pulling behavior under control by using outdated dominance/punishment training methods. People using … Continue reading →
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